Love And Karate
by xXxBumbleBeexXx
Summary: When Hitomi enters the DOA3 tournament, she tries to convince Ein to come back to the dojo, and how strong she is now. But what she doesn't know is that he isn't the Ein she use to know. Hayate/EinxHitomi
1. Chapter 1: We Are Broken

**A/N: Hello Everyone! Welcome to my first story! ^_^ I hope you enjoy it and feel free to review if you like it! =) I worked really hard on it. So...enjoy!**

**P.S: If you don't like the HitiomxEin/Hayate pairing, you may not like this story. And I add some of my own scenes in later chapters.  
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**Love And Karate**

**Chapter One: We Are Broken

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**_Cause we are broken. What must we do restore, our innocence, and oh, the promise we adored._  
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Hitomi gasped in shock at the man in front of her. It's been over a year since she seen him, in front of her in reality. She dreamt of the day of seeing him again, seeing his smile, staring into his earthy umber eyes. But her face was one of confusion when she noticed the clothes he was wearing; a black and crimson red ninja suit and an ebony headband. She bit her lip, watching him do some warm up stretching for the next battle. His muscles flexing, those toned muscles showing off from his tight shirt. He was here, right in front of her. _Say something_ she thought to herself.

She took in a deep breath before speaking, inhaling the cold night air. "Ein!" she spoke, scared of the answer. He looked up at her, holding her iceberg blue eyes, full of excitement and relief. She smiled. "I knew it was you!" He stopped his stretching and tried his best to hold his composure of his face. _What was she doing here?_ He thought to himself. _She isn't strong enough, she could have gotten hurt._

He finally managed to say her name, for the first time in a long time. "Hitomi?" he asked, trying to show no emotion what so ever. Her face was back to the confused look again. _Did Ein just speak to me like that?_ Hitomi thought to herself, her throat dry. Never before had Ein spoke to her with such uncaring, hostility in his voice before. She took another deep breath.

"Ein, you must return to the dojo. Father would be pleased if you came back!" She spoke, trying to control her voice to sound normal, but instead it sounded pleading. Ein held her eyes again, and she stared back into his brown ones. A small smile played at the corner of his lips.

He finally spoke again. "Send him my regards." He said, folding his arms over his chest. Hitomi's face fell completely, shocked and upset to hear him say that. She would not accept being rejected.

"Ein, please! Father-"but Ein cut her off, speaking himself.

"Well, Hitomi" the way he said her name sent chills behind her back. So seductive, dark…different than a year ago. "Have you ever faced anyone more powerful?" Hitomi was surprised he got into his fighting position. She didn't want to fight Ein; she didn't want to hurt him. That's not what she came here for. She came here to bring him back to the dojo. _He promised_, she thought to herself_. He promised he would not leave me, we would fight this together. _But then she realized what she really was here for. Not because she just wanted him back (which indeed was one reason,) but because she wanted to prove herself. She had already proved herself to her father, her master. Now she would show Ein that she was powerful and she wasn't the weak little girl that he left before the DOA2 tournament. She was stronger; she would prove herself to him.

A smile small made its way upon her lips. "I have," she said as she assumed her fighting stance. "And I was victorious then. I will be victorious as well." And with that, she ran towards him, aiming her fist at his face. Before she could punch him, he grabbed her fist in his hand, standing completely still, his face calm. She aimed her right fist at him, and he grabbed it the same, before it could hit his face.

"Not so victorious now, are we?" he asked with a smile, his face inches away from her's. She wouldn't fall for his mind games, no matter how tempting it was to jump on him and crush her lips to his. She narrowed her eyes playful and kneed him in the stomach as he let go of her fist, falling to the floor.

She giggled. "Not so victorious now, are we?" she mocked with a smile as she ran towards his body on the ground. _I will prove myself to him,_ she thought. _He will accept me!_

He got up from the ground and smiled before disappearing in thin air. She gasped and looked around her. "Ein?" she whispered, watching her guard, before being kicked on her back, and being knocked down.

"Appears not" he answered, and before she could get up, he put his foot on her back, holding her to the ground. _What are you doing?_ He thought to himself. _Playing games with this girl. Be serious, you aren't Ein anymore!_ He removed his foot from her back and she got up, wiping her pants off.

She assumed her fighting position again. "I will prove to you I am powerful." She said in a serious tone, running towards him again.

"And I will show no mercy." He said before disappearing again, and Hitomi being knocked down again. She got up again and ran towards him, doing a mid air kick at his face. He caught her foot before it reached him once again, twisting her body around and throwing her against the marble floor. She started to breathe heavily, her hands on the ground, down on her knees. She immediately got up, jumping to her feet, circling him, waiting for the right moment to attack.

"I will beat you." She said in a determined voice. Ein just stared at her, his face back to the way it was before: free of emotions, like a mask on his face. She surprised him with a low spinning kick, but with his fast reflexes, he did a flip, his hands landing on the ground before turning over and landing swiftly on his feet. Hitomi turned around to face him again. He flipped over from, kicking Hitomi in the face in the process. She stumbled back a little before assuming her stance. Ein ran over to her, his hands outstretched in front of him, his fingers lined up against each other and his stabbed her stomached several times, before punching her face, knocking her to the ground. She gasped for air again. Whatever Ein just did wasn't Karate, she was sure of it. _I have to beat him!_ She thought to herself once again as she got up, wiping the blood that was on her lips. "Arrrgh!" she yelled, aiming her fist at him, just to be countered with a throw as she landed on the ground. She held her stomach before collapsing on the ground, breathing heavily. "Ein…" she said barely above a whisper.

"My name isn't Ein" he said in the same dark tone. "My name is Hayate. I am the eighteen leader of the Mugen Tenshin Ninja clan. I know who I am; I don't have time to go back to the dojo." He corrected himself immediately. "I can't go back to the dojo. Hitomi I have a duty as clan leader." She got up from the ground stumbling up, but falling back down to be caught by muscular hands. She looked up into Ein...err, Hayate's eyes.

A small, sad smile made its way to her red lips, coated with blood. "I'm glad you know who you are now at least…"she said quietly, sadness filling her eyes. Hayate looked into her glassy eyes as a single tear made its way down her cheek. Ein getting the best of him, he wiped the tear away, making circles on her cheek. "But….but I don't understand Hay-Hayate. You promised me that you wouldn't hurt me. You promised-"

"And this is me keeping my promise Hitomi." He said as his eyes searched hers. It hurt him so much to see her crying. _No, its hurting Ein, it's not hurting Hayate._ But Ein wanted to comfort her, no matter how much Hayate denied it. And pulled her against his chest, holding onto her hair with his hand, stroking it gently as she cried into his chest. He pulled her away from his grasp, and he kissed her forehead, keeping his lips there for a long time, treasuring the moment. Hitomi sighed at the feeling of his warm lips on her forehead. She could tell he was probably having an internal battle with himself, since he was changing his way of approaching things every few seconds. Her hands touched his chest as she circled his ninja uniform, similar to another person's she fought. Ryu was his name, as he approached her with that. Maybe Hayate and him were friends. She snapped out of her thoughts when he pushed her head against his chest again, kissing her hair. She closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat. The soft thudding she remembered_. It's been so long_, she thought to herself. She missed the sound so much. He then looked into her eyes again before kissing her cheek and making his way towards her lips. Her heart beat quicken when he was at her jaw, his warm breath on her lips. He pulled away to her dismay and shook his head.

"I'm sorry Hitomi, I have a duty. I must go now." He said as he leaped up into the sky, landing on the roof gracefully, kneeling down on one knee. He turned around to see Hitomi's sad face, her hands covering her heart. He turned around when he met her eyes, and closed his as a tear escaped his eye. _I have a duty to the clan. I can't socialize with outsiders…_

And he ran away, out of sight, leaving Hitomi standing in the cold night air. "He promised." she repeated to herself. "He promised…"

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**So...Comments? Suggestions? Do you like it? Was it the worst story you ever read? xD**

**Tell me whatcha think!**

**Peace, love,**

_**xXxBumbleBeexXx**_


	2. Chapter 2: Without You

**A/N: Okay, this is chapter two! Thanks KMSaum and GhostWrite123 for reviewing. ^_^ It means a lot to me. =D So um...this chapter is shorter than the last one, so yeah. Blah, I'm babbling...sorta. xD Just enjoy the story! =)**

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**Love And Karate**

**Chapter Two: Without You**

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_**And I can't breathe without you, but I have to breathe without you...**_

Sitting on her bed, her mind occupied on to many things, Hitomi cried. She wished Hayate was there to comfort her; no she wished Ein was there to comfort her. She didn't like Hayate. He was too scary, mean…dangerous. Ein was sweet, caring, loving. She wished he was here so much. After he left the dojo for the DOA2 tournament, she felt so lonely without him. Hitomi remembered they had a good relationship (friendship wise, and maybe something more.); Ein would always listen to her when she was upset or lonely; he would make her feel better. And she could tell he had feelings for her, ever since he came to the dojo, after they found him in the forest. They had discovered he had suffered a memory lost, and had forgotten his past, but Hitomi's father had treated him like his own son. Ein would always end up walking past her, brushing shoulders against her, or flirting with her. But since he left, a lot of things changed.

After her father caught an illness after she entered the last DOA tournament, they closed down the dojo, which upset her very much. She loved the dojo with all her heart; it was technically where she lived, her room being in the very back where the living area was. It meant so much to Hitomi, and she would still practice her karate in the training room when she was bored or had nothing to do. She loved her father so much; he meant everything to her. She loved him way more than she loved karate. She was just afraid that any second, he would be gone forever.

She was cut from her thoughts when her mother came in with a smile. Hitomi quickly wiped her tears from her eyes. "Hitomi sweetie?" Hitomi looked up at the sound of her mother's voice. "Can you do me a favor and pick up some groceries while I care for you father?" Hitomi had noticed that her mother never left her father's side as he lay in bed, sleeping all day. She would just sit by his side and stare at his face with sad eyes. It broke Hitomi's heart to see her mother like that.

She grinned and nodded. "Yes mother." She answered as she got up from her bed, grabbing her red and black fingerless fighting gloves along the way. Not that she was going to do any fighting, but she loved the feeling of wearing them anyway. The feeling of power, strength. Her mother left the room, followed by Hitomi as she made her way to the entrance of the dojo, opening the slide door.

_The same door Ein walked through before he left_, she thought to herself. She missed him so much. _If only he were here…_

She grabbed her shoes from the front and the woven shopping basket by the slide door, and opened it, stepping out and closing it behind her. She slipped her shoes on skillfully and made her way down the empty street. Life was boring these days. Hitomi had no friends around; just herself. To take everything in…emotionally. She knew it wasn't good to just hide all her feelings inside and lock them up somewhere deep in her heart, but she didn't have Ein here to share them with. She turned a corner and made her way to the nearest market. She walked over to where the fish was, picking up two salmon. She got the salesman's attention and paid her money.

"Aren't you the girl who won 3rd place in the DOA3 tournament?" the man asked. Thoughts of Ein rushed through her head, and she tried her best not to look angry and sad all at once, and put on a fake smile.

"Yes I am, thanks for noticing." And with that, she quickly turned around and walked off to another stall.

When Hitomi was finished with her shopping, she started to make her way home. And when she was lost in thought again (she seemed to be lost in thought a lot these days), she was hit in the face with a piece of paper. She took it off of her face and stared at it, dropping her basket to the pavement.

It read "DOA4 Tournament" in big letters at the top. Why was she so blind all along? She could just enter the tournament, win the million dollar prize, and cure her father and rebuild the dojo. She could also see Ein again. Ein…the thought made her heart leap, but at the same time she wanted to punch something.

"You must be Hitomi." She jumped and turned around at the somewhat familiar voice. The man was wearing a black ninja suit, and his mouth was covered with the same material as his clothes, like a mask over his mouth. He had some brown spiky hair sticking out in the front of his eyes, which were shining emerald green in interest and urgency.

_What's there to be so urgent about?_ Hitomi thought.

"Hayabusa? That is your name right?" she asked, turning her head to the right a little, eying him. His eyes stayed serious as he stared back at her. She remembered him from the last tournament when she went against him.

"Ryu." He corrected, bowing before gesturing her with his hand. "Why don't you take a walk with me?" Hitomi regarded him for a minute. He might tell her a little bit about Hayate and how he is now. She just had this feeling he had something to do with him. All she wanted was to hear he was happy and safe. She finally folded the DOA tournament paper and placed it in her jean pocket, before picking up her basket and following Ryu.

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**So...I kinda...sorta left a cliff hanger. =p**

**Lmao, sorry everyone! Don't hate me for that! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed that! =)**

**Comments? Suggestions?**


	3. Chapter 3: Decode

**A/N: Sorry it's been awhile, but I have this chapter finally up. I know people were excited to see what Ryu was talking about, so I hope you enjoy. This chapter may be a little more informative, and I hopefully got none of the info wrong...but then it is a fictional story I suppose...=p Anywho, I hope you enjoy!**

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**Love And Karate**

**Chapter Three: Decode**

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_**The truth is hiding in your eyes, and it's hanging on your tongue...**_

The two made their way out of the town as they headed towards the forest ahead in silence. It wasn't awkward silence, it was somewhat peaceful. Hitomi watched Ryu's face, wanting to say something. But she noticed he was lost in thought, because his green eyes looked distance; but she also didn't want to ruin the calm silence that clouded them. She liked it a lot. The only silence she had encountered was painfully or lonely. So she liked this a lot, that she had someone to actually be walking with, some company.

Ryu lead her deeper into the forest, and Hitomi become a little nervous…and a little scared. She looked around her, the area dark from the trees that blocked off the sun, only a few rays of sun coming from open entrances. The forest made no sound, but only the animals quietly running around and the leaves on the trees shaking as the cold wind blew. Hitomi decided to finally speak.

"Where are you taking me?" she asked Ryu. He stayed quiet as they continued walking.

_Okay then_, she thought to herself_. A little um...rude aren't we?_ Then, Hitomi noticed an opening of the bushes and two tree trunks at each side, making a clear path as sunlight blinded her. Ryu moved a few of the branches away as he walked past the opening and into the sunlight. Hitomi quickly followed him through too.

She noticed then, there was pieces of wood, inside a circled made by little pebbles. There were two rocks, one on an opposite side, which surrounded the wood. Hitomi looked around and saw all the huge boulders that were surrounding the area, and a stream that was following a little far ways in front of her. She took a deep breath, feeling the sun of her skin. She smelled salmon, pine, dirt. She liked the smell a lot. Grass was growing in little places that pebbles of dirt weren't, which made some dust come off from the ground as they walked.

"I wanted to talk to you about something Hitomi." Ryu finally spoke for the first time, since before they left town. "To be clearer about things, I wanted to speak about Hayate and his past." He walked off and jumped on top of two huge boulders that were in front of him, sitting on them. She noticed he grabbed a fishing rod, and threw the hook into the river that was below. Hitomi followed him up, sitting beside him as he fished. He removed his mask from his mouth and assumed his hand on the rod again.

She watched his face as he concentrated on the water. "Hayate," Ryu said as he watched the water, his eyes becoming distance then. "He was born to Shiden and Ayame. They were the leaders of the Mugen Tenshin clan, so of course; soon he would have to be the next leader of the clan when he was older." Ryu pulled at his fishing rod and reeled it in quickly, a fish at the end of the hook. Hitomi watched as he placed it down next to him, and she assumed it was dead. "But Hayate knew little about his family and what happened to his mother."

"What happened to his mom?" Hitomi asked him, watching his face. It was carefully composure, trying not to show any emotion, as he pretended to concentrate on the water.

"His mother…" he paused before speaking again. "His mother was raped by Raidou." He held up his hand, sensing that Hitomi was going to ask another question. "He was only seven, so he wouldn't have known. But Ayane, a good friend of his was his and Kasumi's half sister. She was known as the 'cursed child' in the village, but her and Kasumi were good friends." He smiled at this memory. "But learning that Ayame was her mother, jealous overcame her soul. Kasumi was treated so much better than her. She then hated Kasumi and still does until this very day."

"Yah, but what does that have to do with-"but Ryu stopped her again with his hand. He then pulled at the rod and captured another fish, placing it in the space between the two.

"Hayate?" he said, finishing Hitomi's sentence. "Well you see, when Hayate grew up to be older after years passed, Raidou came back to the village. He wanted to steal the Torn Sky Blast ninpõ attack for his own selfish reasons for power. So he attacked some to the villagers, not leaving until he got what we wanted. Ayane tried to protect Hayate, but was unsuccessful. So it was up to Hayate to stop Raidou. Raidou mocked him, making Hayate angry, and he ended up using the Torn Sky Blast attack on Raidou, stealing it from Hayate. Hayate ended up slamming against a tree when their attacks collided. He broke his spine and we discovered he was in a comma.

"His sister that I mentioned earlier, Kasumi," A small smile played at the corner of his lips again, before it fell. "She looked after him. She was sad to see her dear brother hurt, since she loved him so much. They had a pretty good relationship as brother and sister. So an idea came into her mind to avenge Hayate by killing Raidou. Well, she didn't know Raidou hurt him until later. So she entered the first DOA tournament to discover the truth."

Hitomi was very interested in hearing about this. Ryu reeled in another fish and placed it in the pile. She stayed quiet as he continued. "So Kasumi ran away, becoming a runaway shinobi. The clan didn't tolerate this from any clan member, especially her. Since her brother's accident, she was supposed to take the role as the next clan leader. So they sent Ayane out as an assassin to kill her. Of course, I did as her brother use to tell me and tried to protect her so many times, but she would never listen to me. She always said it was her destiny and she had to do it. She would tell me not to get in the way.

"So, while all this was happening, somehow Hayate was captured by DOATEC, being researched for Project Epsilon."

"What is DOATEC? What's Project Epsilon?" Hitomi asked in confusion.

Ryu stayed quiet for awhile, watching the water. "DOATEC, the Dead or Alive Tournament Executive Committee. It is a weapon's research and development center. Also known to preside over the DOA tournaments. Project Epsilon was performed on Hayate, since he was one of the most powerful ninjas in the world. The purpose was to make him have superhuman abilities, physically." Hitomi's throat burned as Ryu reeled in another fish, turning to face her for the first time before turning his attention back to the water. "They tried to get into his nervous system to succeed this, but nothing was working. So someone ended up releasing him and it was unknown what happened until Hayate told me about you.

"He told me that you found him in the forest here and took him in. He told me your family was grateful. But-"

"But he suffered from amnesia. He couldn't remember his past." Hitomi said as she looked at the water below. "We called him Ein. Father teached him karate and he mastered it. He could even beat me." Hitomi smiled before it quickly fell. "He wanted to leave when he heard about the DOA tournament. He wanted to find out about his past. He told me that one day he would take me with him and we could fight together…" A single tear left Hitomi's eye, but she wiped it away. "Anyway, he ended up leaving. For the third DOA tournament, I decided since my karate improved to go and find…Ein." She only knew him as Ein then.

"When I found him, I asked him to come back to the dojo, but he refused. He told me later on after we fought and I lost who he was. He told me he had a duty to the clan." Ryu listened with interest while he reeled in another fish. But Hitomi had nothing more to say. So she stayed quiet, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

Ryu got up and grabbed the fish, jumping down onto the dirt, making dust form around him. Hitomi jumped down too, and by the time she went over to where Ryu was, she noticed he had started a little camp fire where the wood was. She sat on one of the smaller boulders. Ryu sat across from her on his own.

"Did you know that Kasumi was part of Project Epsilon?" he asked Hitomi as he grabbed a stick that was beside the boulder he was sitting on, where also a hat sat besides him.

"No…how come she was involved?" she asked him as he placed the stick through the fish.

"Well," he said as he placed it over the growing fire. "Since she was Hayate's sister and their first try of Project Epsilon failed, they tried Kasumi. She ended up being released, but they did make some clones of her. Kasumi told me during the DOA2 tournament that someone that looked exactly like her showed up when she discovered the lab and went inside. She told me everywhere; in these big tubes were millions of clones of her. She ended up fighting someone that was just like her. I sneaked into DOATEC and I learned that they named it Kasumi X. But since then, we haven't seen the clone."

Ryu moved the fish away from the fire and examined it. "Kasumi sounds very interesting. Noble even if you ask me. I don't see her as a traitor or runaway. I think she just wanted to figure out what really happened to Hayate. She was concern for him. I mean, it is her brother." Ryu nodded and offered Hitomi the fish that he placed on the stick moments ago.

"Thank you." She said as she took the stick from his hands, looking at the cooked salmon.

"I agree with that. I even made a promise to Hayate that she wouldn't get hurt. That she wouldn't die and I would never let her go. She just won't listen to me." Hitomi felt a little sympathy for Ryu. He seemed very caring and wise for a ninja. As if he read her thoughts, Ryu added: "We aren't as vile as we seem to be. Hayate may be a little on the strict side, but we are honestly kind souls. Well…most of us." Ryu started cooking another fish for himself. Thoughts of Ayane came back to Hitomi. She didn't understand the jealous that much. It was still her sister, why be jealous? She understood that Ayane was anger because she was treated worst than Kasumi, but why hate Kasumi so much? It wasn't her fault Ayame got raped.

"Hey, why does Ayane hate Kasumi so much? I mean, they're sisters. I understand she was treated differently than Kasumi, but why hate her? It isn't her fault?" Hitomi took a bite of her salmon and watched Ryu's face, which was still calm and settled.

"Ayane...I still wonder about her. She's let jealous engulf her, making hatred out of it towards Kasumi and her mother. Kasumi was treated like royalty, while she wasn't. While Ayane was embarrassed and an outcast, her mother sat there and watched. Ayane hates her mother for that." Ryu looked up at Hitomi. "I don't think it's good to have negative feelings. It leads to anger, a bad soul. If you don't a have a good soul, you will not have a good life. Simple as that." He looked up at the sun, and then looked back at Hitomi. She liked that he was very wise and calm. He didn't see the bad side of things. He looked towards the good side.

"Wow." Was all Hitomi said as she took another bite of her salmon. "I feel sorry for Ayane. No one ever loved her really." Ryu nodded as he took a bite of his own. They ate in silence as Hitomi took it all in. How come Ryu knew so much about all of this? Why was he telling her these things? What did she have to do with all of this? Hitomi still wonder as she finished her salmon. She noticed her grocery basket, which was back at the entrance, only a few feet away. "I think I have to go." She finally said as she got up.

Ryu looked alert then, as he stared off at the trees. "Wait, don't move." He said as he kept watched the trees. Hitomi quickly sat back down and Ryu keeping staring out at the trees, before looking at the fire again.

_What was wrong? _Hitomi thought to herself. Then she heard a rush of air and Ryu got up quickly. An arrow was racing towards him, and he grabbed his hat, throwing it towards the arrow. The arrow just ran through it, but it slowed down as he caught it in his hand. Hitomi gasped at how fast everything just came and went. She noticed that there was a paper tied onto the arrow. Ryu un knotted it and opened it up, reading it. His eyes narrowed as he continued reading. She never saw him upset before. He stopped reading the paper and slowly released it as it fell into the flames in front of him. Hitomi widen her eyes and stared at him.

"What did it say?" she asked him questioningly. He smiled at her kindly, but it didn't touch his eyes. Something in the note upset him very much, she could tell.

"Nothing at all. Now, you should get going." Ryu said to Hitomi's disappointment. She walked over to where her basket laid and picked it up from the ground. "But," he added quickly before she left. "If you ever need advice, I will be in the curio shop not too far from town." Hitomi turned around with a mask of confusion on her face. "If you don't know where that is, I want you to come here and travel past the river and threw those trees. Our clan is there. I want you to ask for Ayane. She shall escort you there." _Maybe I won't be asking for advice after all,_ Hitomi thought to herself. She was afraid to meet Ayane, but at the same time, she felt a little sympathy for her.

Hitomi nodded to Ryu. "Thank you for everything." She said with a small smile. Ryu nodded back and he looked towards the fire again, his eyes distant. Hitomi decided it was her cue to go as she turned around and headed into the trees.

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**So...all those people who weren't DOA game players and didn't understand the story, that should help you a little. Lol. Anyway, I hope you liked that one. It took a lot of research and writing too! xD Kinda like a filler, or just something to refresh your memory. So, I really hope you enjoyed. I like Ryu a lot, and it is fun to write about him! ^_^ Oh, and yes I stole some of the end scene with the whole hat thing from the end clip of Hayabusa's story from DOA3. Mwhaahaaa! Yes, I'm evil! xD I do not own any of the characters though, so don't sue! Lol**

**So any comments? Suggestions? SUGGESTIONS! xD**

**I really would like some of your ideas. =) We have some creative people on here. =) And of course, you'll be credited. =D And, please tell any of your DOA loving friends to read and review. That would make me SOOO happy! ^_^ So, thanks and love you guys!**


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